KUALA LUMPUR – Siti Nuramira Natasha Abdullah, the woman who allegedly insulted Islam during an open mic comedy skit at the Crackhouse Comedy Club, will be released from custody tomorrow morning after managing to post bail earlier today.
Her lawyer, Ramesh Chandran, told The Vibes that she will be delivered to the court complex here from the Beranang satellite prison at around 9.30am tomorrow.
“We’re not sure if she will be in a special vehicle or with other individuals heading to the courthouse too,” he said.
He added that her partner, Alexander Navin Vijayachandran, should also be released at roughly the same time tomorrow from the Kuala Kubu Baru satellite prison, and is set to have his bail proceedings completed at the Petaling Jaya courthouse.
Earlier today, The Vibes reported that the couple had managed to raise enough money to secure their combined bail of RM40,000 four days after a crowdfunding initiative was started.
Just yesterday, the couple’s other lawyer R. Sivaraj said that RM15,000 had been collected from the public, adding that the plan was to bail out Siti Nuramira first before continuing to gather money for her partner’s bail.
Last Friday, The Vibes reported that legal group Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) will be assisting in the crowdfunding initiative by allowing donations to be channelled to the group’s bank account.
Earlier on the same day, Sivaraj told The Vibes that the couple will be appealing to the public for financial aid to settle the bail amount of RM20,000 each, after failing to cough up the amount two days prior.
The lawyer said many people have reached out to the defence team about donating to the duo who, at that time, had managed to gather about RM3,000.
He added that a shariah lawyer has been appointed for Siti Nuramira even though religious authorities have yet to file charges.
However, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Ahmad Marzuk Shaary has since confirmed with Getaran, The Vibes’ Bahasa Malaysia sister portal, that the woman will be charged at the shariah court here under Section 7 of the Syariah Criminal Offences (Federal Territories) Act 1997.
Last week, Siti Nuramira, 26, pleaded not guilty to charges of inciting religious disharmony during her performance at the comedy club here, with judge Siti Amirah Ghazali setting bail at RM20,000 with one surety and August 18 for mention.
In a video that went viral on social media, she claimed to be a Muslim and to have memorised 15 chapters (juzuk) of the Quran, before stripping off her headscarf and baju kurung to reveal a sleeveless top and miniskirt.
Alexander, 38, also maintained his innocence to two charges under Section 233(1)(a) of the CMA 1998 for uploading insensitive material on online platforms and is facing a RM20,000 bail in total. – The Vibes, July 18, 2022
